Iran to Resume Nuclear Fuel Research

A top Iranian nuclear official says Iran will resume nuclear research activities in the coming days, ending a suspension declared more than two years ago.

Mohammad Saeedi, the deputy chief of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, says Tehran has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency by letter of its intention to restart research into nuclear fuel technology.

Speaking Tuesday in Tehran, Mr. Saeedi did not identify the new research. But he stressed that no decision has been made to resume the actual production of nuclear fuel.

Iran suspended uranium enrichment activities in October of 2003, under intense international pressure.

Both the United States and the European Union have voiced grave concerns that Tehran is seeking highly enriched uranium to make an atomic bomb. Tehran says it wants a lower grade of the enriched ore to fuel a nuclear power plant.